UPDATE : 12/21/10 - Redriven no longer gets their turbines from the SWG - Yangzhou Shenzhou Company. More than a year ago they started making their own parts in China. Redriven has their own factory in China run by Cameron Grant. None of the parts of my turbine are manufactured by SWG - Yangzhou Shenzhou Company.
Paul Gipe is THE authority on Wind power. In his book, Wind Power, he says “ Rotor diameter says it all”. What you are looking for is energy not power. Your ability to capture the wind’s energy is what is important. Of course hub height is also important. The trade off with hub height is the ability to service the turbine. We settled for 80ft in order to get the ability for a hydraulic tilt up tower.
Gipe also says that the power curves given by manufactures are just “informed guess work” and should be viewed with “ a good dose of skepticism.”
The power curve is made up of:
Star-up Speed (starts turning)
Cut-in Speed (start producing power)
Rated speed (speed that it reaches is rated power)
Peak power (Max power it can produce)
Cut-out speed (Speed that the generator stop producing power and go into protection mode)
Furling Speed (For turbines with tail vanes)
Wind Speed Bin (A way to produce discrete data from continuous data)
The Redriven Turbine’s published data in this area is superior to other 10KW turbines. Longer blade diameter, low start up wind speed the ability extend the peak power with the active yaw points to a better performing wind turbine.
However! Another big consideration is reliability. Everyone expects to get many years out of a wind turbine. This is my biggest concern in picking the Redriven product. It is very new and doesn’t have a proven track record of performance. If the product has many issues, will Redriven and my installer be able to be able to keep the installed based operational and be profitable during the five year warrantee period. Will we be able to get parts to keep the turbine working long enough to get our investment back?
I started my investigation trying to find out about the Chinese company that make Redriven’s turbine. I did a search with the terms Redriven and China and came up with shipping documents http://www.importgenius.com/importers/redriven.html
Yangzhou Shenzhou shipping to Redriven in Canada.
As soon as you go to the SWG - Yangzhou Shenzhou web site it is clear that is the Redriven product. Same look, same tower, same hydraulic lifting mechanism.
http://www.f-n.cn/
I did some investigation on the Internet and found that Redriven’s supplier is SWG - Yangzhou Shenzhou. They have been in business for 12 years. ISO 9000 certified.
One of the best sites for seeing the product that the Chinese manufacturer sells that I have found is http://www.evolvegreen.ca/catalog/item/6319999/6614526.htm
They have many manufacture PDFs
http://shenzhougenerator.en.alibaba.com/
also shows the wind turbines.
Saftey warning about ReDriven
ReplyDeletehttp://www.windaction.org/news/20716
I have a ReDriven 20kw system which I am really frustrated with the problems. Any information on issues with controller etc would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI am the operations manager for Evolve Green. I know that SWG IE Redriven have had issues with the controllers. I believe both Redriven and SWG have been working hard to resolve the problems. I have a Manufacturer that can replace the controller at a reasonable cost and provide 1 year warranty They are the Manufacture of our Evolve line 300watts to 1.5 mw turbines. I hope this information helps BVALA.You can call the store if you wish to talk about your options.
The blades on the 20KW were defective from the get go. They gave me smaller blades which produce much less power. Still have not heard when the replacements are coming.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a problem with the Inverters/Transformers. They keep poppiong fuses. The only way to keep them on is to by pass the controller and leave them on 24/7. They consume ALOT of power.
Since we have installed the Redriven 20KW our power bill has INCREASED by about 800 KW x PGE 5th teir rate = another $350 per month in power consumption.
I am NOT AT ALL happy with this product. We will see if they can make it right. But has already been months since the installation and nothing has been fixed.
Anonymous posters - I've heard from many posters that Redriven stands behind their products. Please identify your self so Redriven can help you.
ReplyDeleteCalled ReDriven regarding your posts. Here is what I was told.
ReplyDelete1. blades were manufactured by another company. they are now making their own blades.
2.ReDriven no longer purchasing SWG product. they are manufacturing their own blades, turbine and control system.
3.Poster scottj i think is the Scott Jackson from the windaction article. phoned the BBB in chico and learned he lost his contractor license, has been sued multiple times for the turbines he installed and redriven had to come in behind him to fix at their cost.
It would be great if someone from Redriven would do an non-anonymous post and let us know the facts about the Manufacturing. Is it true that Redriven is no longer purchasing SWG product or is it that you are partnering with SWG to ensure the quality of the products going into the Redriven system? Also, are the blades of the 10 and 20kw system new? What effects do these new blades have on the power curve?
ReplyDeleteI was a redriven dealer. I wish to remain anonymous because I don't want create any legal problems. My experience with them has always been peculiar. I could never get a strait answer about anything. I also found it odd that they don't have any products in stock and every order/part is shipped from china at the dealers/customers expense. These systems are not outrageous in price why can't they have a couple on hand on this continent? We all know where they are made,yet they try very hard to keep this info a secrete. I think this is do to the fact that there are many other "wind turbine" companies in North America selling the same SWG product.
ReplyDeleteIf they are in fact manufacturing their own products, I think it's a step in the right direction. Putting your label on another companies product doesn't make you a manufacturer,more like a distributor. I think their intentions are good,but they need to just be a little more honest with their customers. I can't sell a product to a customer knowing #1 that it will take 12 months to get and #2 If something goes wrong with a part it will take another couple months. I wasted $1500 dollars on the dealer fee, but feel relieved I didn't sell something that would only cause me a great deal of headaches. I wish them and anyone who bought the SWG good luck. It's a very good concept that needs some professional engineering/testing before I'll but it.
My grandfather always told me that "cheap is a pain in the ass"!I should have listened.
We have represented ReDriven for about two years now. They are a young company in the early startup phase in a very dynamic and environmentally demanding market. I will have to give them credit for weathering the storm with YAW motor, turbine blade and controller fixes. I feel they will eventually bring to the market a proven and reliable turbine and controller system which measures up the the product specifications they publish. I find that most everyone thinks they can jump into this business sell a turbine and call themselves a qualified dealer, installer and or manufacturer. This is just not the case. We have spent two years now selling in the market with just two selective installations to our credit. This is all we wanted to take on until the turbines and manufacturers we represent can meet the level of service and reliability we expect from them. Believe me our standards are very high since we come from the IT business where high reliability is demanded! The customer or end user is the one who will make you or break you in this business. It is your responsibility as a distributor & installer to get everything right before taking the customers money. The manufacturers need to get it right for you. You need to know when the manufacturer is not meeting their committments so you are not caught in the middle. I believe ReDriven will and has lived up to their word in honoring these committments from our experience with the young company and its management team. Ed Goodman
ReplyDeleteAgain, I was not sure I should post Anonymous comments. To be fair 6 months of my wait was for NYS approval before Redriven knew for sure if I was going to be able to get funding for the turbine. They are a new company. In this economy even well established companies are keeping zero inventory levels. I too really wish Redriven website had more information.
ReplyDeleteOn order a 10 kW, is now 3 months behind delivery schedule. We have a very hard time getting return phone calls and emails. Another installing dealer in our state (MI) has installed a 5kW and the anemometer broke off and is waiting for a replacement. This dealer did state that when the device runs it produces to expectations and the tower is a well engineered smooth running piece of equipment. They also stated it took one year for delivery! Our company has a retainer for a 20kW system on a 120' tower, before we send ReDriven any money we are going to complete the 10kW first. Now our clients deposit sits in escrow to protect the best interest of all parties. Lake Effect Energy Corporation - Michigan.
ReplyDeleteHello Small windy you make a very valid point here. I have lost 40% of my business in the time and We try to keep the inventory low as well. Turbines are custom made in that size range anyway. The Turbine I like the most is the 6kw Scirocco french made turbine.... 5 yr warranty. Do not need a dump load just runs unloaded. Pitch blades and really quiet over 98% sold still running... I don't know of a better turbine then that. I have one up in Alberta that is going great no need for a controller and it produces the same as a 10kw in average wind speeds.. evolvegreen.ca see it in the wind section...
ReplyDeleteI purchased a 5 KW SWG generator from an installer that has gone bankrupt due to the fact that all of the generators had problems. I have tried many times over the last 7-8 months to get any kind of support from SWG and they do not even reply to the e-mails. I have had the generator installed for 16 months and it has never worked correctly. I have burned up 3 Aurora interface boxes and 1 inverter and of course Aurora blames the faulty generator controls for all of the problems, so nothing is covered by the warranty. I would love to get some support from SWG but it is obvious that it will happen. I would highly recommend that no-one buy a generator that is manufactured by SWG and sold under any other name. I have currently got the unit running, but output is low and the wind speed indicator does not work.
ReplyDeleteBuyer BEWARE
ReDriven doesn't sell SWG parts any more. They make their own turbines now in their own factory in China. I don't know of anyone that supports the SWG products anymore. It might be possible that the new Redriven turbines would be able to fit on the SWG towers, if you had the money to replace the 5K.
ReplyDeleteYangzhou Shenzhou Wind Driven Generator Co is not a company to trust.
ReplyDeleteAny problem with the wind generators is your problem - no warranty is accepted whatsoever.
Search google with "Shenzhou Wind Problems" and you will find lots of pictures of broken down Yangzhou Shenzhou products. On site is http://www.f-n.cc with lots of pictures. I feel sorry for those guys...
//Lvind
Warning!
ReplyDeleteProblems with SWG, Shenzhou Wind-driven Generator Co., Ltd
After problems = No warranty!
Please check http://f-n.cc/
There is photos of some of all problems that we proud owners of SWG units will have.
If you have some stories to tell. Feel free to do so on that forum, please also add your personal photos!
PHEW I NEARLY BOUGHT ONE ON EBAY
ReplyDeleteAND THEN FOUND THE POSTS
THERE IS NEWS ON A SITE THAT STATED THE BLADES FLEW OFF AT A SCHOOL